


Pine Bluff Variant Indeed

by thebasement_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-09-30
Updated: 1999-09-30
Packaged: 2018-11-20 08:34:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11332212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebasement_archivist/pseuds/thebasement_archivist
Summary: Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived atThe Basement, which moved to the AO3 to ensure the stories are always available and so that authors may have complete control of their own works. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address onThe Basement's collection profile.





	Pine Bluff Variant Indeed

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Basement](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Basement), which moved to the AO3 to ensure the stories are always available and so that authors may have complete control of their own works. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Basement's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thebasement/profile).

 

Pine Bluff Variant Indeed By Kassandra

SlashX: 14 July 1998  
ArchiveX: 17 July 1998  
Pine Bluff Variant Indeed   
By Kassandra   
This was Te's birthday present and she's such a sweetie, she wanted to share her toys.....  
Pine Bluff Variant Indeed - M/Sk  
Disclaimers disclaimed  
Warnings Warned

* * *

Lying in the dark on his couch, Fox Mulder found it impossible to sleep. The painkiller had dulled the throb of his broken finger, but the oblivion he sought remained out of reach.

The sound of a key in the door made him tense until the door opened and the hallway light outlined a taller, broader figure than Scully's.

The door closed almost soundlessly and quiet footsteps moved toward the kitchen.

"I'm awake," he said rustily and pushed himself up against the arm of the couch.

The kitchen light went on, making him squint; he saw Skinner standing there with a medium sized sack from which tantalizing odors drifted.

"How's the hand?" Gruffly.

"Better." Mulder shrugged, swung his legs down as Skinner moved toward the couch. 

Skinner put the sack on the coffee table, turned to study him. "Did you eat?"

He almost smiled. But he was too tired. "No, wasn't sure how it would go down with the meds."

Skinner nodded, almost absently. Rose again to take off his coat and hang it up, came back to sit beside him.

Casual clothes. He'd gone home, then, before coming here. Mulder started to lean forward, but found himself caught up gently and held tightly. No words. Just that silent embrace. And then Skinner leaned back, took of his glasses and set them on the table. Kissed him this time, long and lush and Mulder wrapped his arms around the broader shoulders, let himself shake a little.

Found his face cupped, a drift of kisses over his cheekbone, his eyelids, down the corner of his jaw.

His throat was too tight to speak when he was released at last. He watched, blinking hard, as Skinner tugged the bag closer and began lifting out styrofoam deli containers.

"Nothing fancy," Skinner rumbled, "Just soup and sandwiches. I figured that would be easy on the gut."

He nearly grinned. "You're getting to know me too well." Tried to grin. Failed.

"I hope so." Skinner opened a bowl, set the lid aside carefully and handed it to him. Added a plastic spoon. 

He leaned in and sniffed. Tomato, basil, garlic and something indefinable.

"Tomato florentine," Skinner told him and pulled out a wrapped sandwich. "Roast beef."

"You know the way to my heart," he joked half-heartedly. 

Faint smile, but no other response.

He took a bite of the soup. It was good, better than it smelled, even.

And then Skinner leaned back, just watching him eat, those dark eyes unreadable. Not that he needed to read them right now. Skinner's embrace had told him whatever he would have needed to know.

So he busied himself with the food, suddenly ravenous. Medium-rare roast beef, thick sourdough bread, mustard with a hint of horseradish, and a slab of cheddar cheese. "I want your recipe," he joked, in between bites.

Skinner just grinned, put his arm on the back of the couch. "Valentine's," he told Mulder, then, "You really didn't think I made my famous lasagna from scratch, did you?"

"Nah, I thought you got it frozen." Last bite and he licked his fingers clean. Leaned back and gazed at Skinner. "Thanks, that was great."

"De nada." Skinner sighed. "Come here."

He went, gladly leaned into the kiss Skinner offered. Laughed when Skinner grabbed *his* legs and hauled them across his own.

"Feeling possessive?" 

"Feeling lucky," Skinner told him, suddenly somber. "I read your report. There's a lot you didn't say there."

Mulder blinked, dropped his gaze to the pulse that beat at Skinner's throat. "Like what?"

"Like how they happened to make you."

He swallowed hard. "It was my own fault. I got home and Scully was here. She wanted to know what I was doing, more or less, and I more or less told her. They were, ah, listening."

He was close enough to see the muscles in Skinner's throat and jaw tighten. "She showed up here?" 

Deceptively soft. "Yeah. C'mon, Walt, it wasn't her fault." He let his head fall against Skinner's shoulder. "I was stupid, I shouldn't have talked to her about it here. I should have known."

"Maybe," Skinner agreed tightly, "But it doesn't excuse the fact that she was directly ordered to stay away from you, she'd already nearly blown your cover once."

He lifted his head, started at Skinner. "What?"

Skinner's smile was thin. "She'd decided you were actually a traitor, she'd been tailing you."

Shocked, Mulder considered the implications of that. "She thought I was a traitor and she didn't report me to you?"

"No." Skinner's arm tightened around him. "No, she didn't." 

A little sick, Mulder swallowed hard. "Why not?"

"Hell if I know. And I wasn't going to ask her with the US Attorney sitting across from me. Now that this is over, however, I do intend to have a discussion with her." No reproof in his tone, at least not for Mulder.

"She had to have a reason." Mulder swallowed hard again. "I mean, she's followed me on some questionable, ah, trips, but she's a good agent, Walt."

"She always has been." An evasion of sorts, he could tell by the way Skinner's gaze moved away from him.

But there was no point in arguing further. It wouldn't help Scully, and he really didn't want to argue. Not right now.

They sat in silence for several moments, and Mulder closed his eyes. Funny, now that Skinner was here, now that he'd eaten, sleep seemed within reach. Which was embarrassing.

"C'mon," Skinner murmured. "Into bed with you."

"Oh, good." He opened his eyes, tried for a rakish grin.

Skinner tapped his nose. "I don't always come over just to stuff your ass, you know." Drily. "I needed to know you were okay."

"I should have come over," Mulder began, but stopped when a finger was laid over his lips. 

Skinner's expression was amused. "This works two ways, you know. Not just at my convenience." Very softly.

It made him blink hard again. Swinging his legs down, he rose, swayed a little. "Wow, that's good shit they gave me."

A chuckle behind him and Skinner guided him to the bedroom. "Into bed with you," he murmured and sat Mulder down on the edge. Grazed his temple with a kiss and stepped back to pull his own shirt off.

Obediently, Mulder shed the sweatpants, slid over and sighed as Skinner got in beside him. "So you don't come over just to stuff my ass?"

A low chuckle. "I'll stuff it in the morning."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart." Another chuckle. "Go to sleep."

Arranging himself so the splint didn't dig, Mulder smiled, bumped his ass up against the broader body. "Just remember, you promised." Christ, he was starting to slur already. "What was in that soup?"

Skinner's breath was warm on his skin. "Nothing. I think you just relaxed." 

Comfortable arm over Mulder's middle and he began to sink, this time letting himself go....

Finis


End file.
